Rapid Communication
Copyright ©2005 Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Dec 14, 2005; 11(46): 7345-7350
Published online Dec 14, 2005. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v11.i46.7345
Disrupted NF-κB activation after partial hepatectomy does not impair hepatocyte proliferation in rats
Stéphanie Laurent, Yves Horsmans, Peter Stärkel, Isabelle Leclercq, Christine Sempoux, Luc Lambotte
Stéphanie Laurent, Yves Horsmans, Peter Stärkel, Isabelle Leclercq, Christine Sempoux, Luc Lambotte, Gastroenterology, Pathology and Experimental Surgery Laboratories, Université catholique de Louvain, 1200 Brussels, Belgium
Author contributions: All authors contributed equally to the work.
Supported by a grant from Glaxo-Smithkline, Belgium, a grant from Astra Zeneca, Belgium, and a grant (3-4598) of FRSM, Belgium
Correspondence to: Professor Yves Horsmans, Department of Gastroenterology, St. Luc University Hospital, Av. Hippocrate 10, 1200 Brussels, Belgium. horsmans@gaen.ucl.ac.be
Telephone: +32-27642822
Received: February 18, 2005
Revised: September 13, 2005
Accepted: September 16, 2005
Published online: December 14, 2005
Abstract

AIM: To analyze the effects of NF-κB inhibition by antioxidant pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC) or TNF inhibitor pentoxifylline (PTX) on liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy (PH).

METHODS: Saline, PDTC or PTX were injected 1 h before PH and rats were killed at 0.5 and 24 h after PH. Several control groups were used for comparison (injection control groups).

RESULTS: Compared to saline injected controls, NF-κB activation was absent 0.5 h after PH in rats treated with PDTC or PTX. At 24 h after PH, DNA synthesis and PCNA expression were identical in treated and control rats and thus occurred irrespectively of the status of NF-κB activation at 0.5 h. Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (Stat3) activation was observed already 0.5 h after PH in saline, PDTC or PTX group and was similar to Stat3 activation in response to injection without PH.

CONCLUSION: These data strongly suggest that (1) NF-κB p65/p50 DNA binding produced in response to PH is not a signal necessary to initiate the liver regeneration, (2) Stat3 activation is a stress response unrelated to the activation of NF-κB. In conclusion, NF-κB activation is not critically required for the process of liver regeneration after PH.

Keywords: Partial hepatectomy; Nuclear factor kappa B; Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3; Hepatocyte proliferation; Antioxidant